SOUTH KOREA
Juul Labs has announced it would end operations in South Korea, a year after it entered the market there but failed to gain traction amid government health warnings.
A company statement said since the beginning of the year it had entered a restructuring process aimed a re-establishing a viable business in the country by significantly reducing costs and making changes to its products. “However, these innovations will not be available as anticipated. As a result, we intend to cease our operations in South Korea,” the statement read.
The statement went on to say, “Our performance has not met expectations in terms of meeting the needs of our Korean adult smokers to successfully transition from combustible cigarettes.
Juul entered South Korea last May with a product portfolio specifically developed for the Korean market. Then, in October, South Korea’s health ministry advised people to stop vaping because of growing health concerns, causing convenience store chains and duty-free shops to suspend the sale of flavored liquid e-cigarettes, including those made by Juul. This was followed by another blow in December when health authorities said they had found vitamin E acetate, which may be linked to lung illnesses, in some liquid e-cigarette products made by Juul Labs, but the company does not use the material.